November Monthly Round Up

Life Lately: In Geneva, we are starting to see the Christmas decorations in the shops. It is only natural that I want to share with you a list of independent shops where you might find the perfect gift for your family and friends. As far as I’m concerned, I always start in advance to go hunting for beautiful gifts. It’s so nice when the shops are not yet overrun. When I sat down to write this blog post, I realised that my list had grown considerably... and the result is that it has ended up being a Christmas Shops List and a very photo-heavy monthly round up. I really hope you enjoy…

Coop City (12, rue de Carouge)

Coop City is a Swiss institution (the only non-independent shop in my list). On November 1st they displayed everything you need to make a special decoration for this Christmas. This year, I would be tempted to make an Antarctic decoration, all blue and white.

Ñ (Egne) Wine & Tapas Bar (12-14, rue du Cendrier)

The freshly opened EGNE is a 10 minute walk from Geneva Cornavin train station. The vibe is really relaxed and cool, with a minimalist elegance, and the staffs, two young smiling guys, exude Spanish warmth. You can also buy exquisite wines and other fine Spanish products, since the bar is a delicatessen too.

Chloë Jewellery Shop (6, Rond-Point de Plainpalais)

I love their cosy and girly universe and their high-end fantasy silver, gold plated and rose gold plated jewellery. All their jewellery is handmade. All creations are then presented in a very nice gift package, in pastel or bright colours.

Les Filles Indignes (10, rue de l’Arquebuse)

This is a coffee, wine and delicatessen whose concept is to have no predefined menu. Every day the menu, made of quiches, salads, soups, and homemade cakes, is concocted according to what the chef finds at the market. I like this bohemian atmosphere and the little corner bookshelf is a real plus.

SBC SPA (77, rue des Eaux-Vives)

Should you decide to offer yourself a treat or want to offer a very nice gift to a friend, what about an afternoon at Sbc Spa? This is a freshly opened spa with an Arabian Nights decor. One can enjoy the hammam, jacuzzi, sauna, a haircut or a massage with Decléor products, a brand renowned for its high quality.

Mr & Mrs Renou (39, rue Saint-Joseph, Carouge)

Freshly opened, this gem of pastry shop is very popular among the gourmets in Geneva. It must be said that their creations are uniquely delicate and terribly delicious. The chef has been decorated with the prestigious medal “Meilleur Ouvrier de France”. That day, I fell for a dark chocolate and Madagascar vanilla cake.

Atelier Floral Création (28, rue Ancienne, Carouge)

Where can you buy a beautiful Christmas wreath? Here’s your answer! I really think that a bouquet of flowers is one of the nicest things to brighten up your house.

Librairie du Boulevard (34, rue de Carouge)

A book is always one of the best Christmas presents! One of my favourite bookstores in Geneva is the Librairie du Boulevard, an independent bookstore in the popular district of Plainpalais. Whenever I can, I take a look at the new arrivals. I really enjoyed reading the summary of these three books.

“Et puis ça fait bête d'être triste en maillot de bain”. (And then it’s stupid to be sad in a swimsuit) by Amandine Dhée, a French author whose books are inspired by everyday life…

“Summer” by Monica Sabolo, an Italian author whose book has won a prize and become a hit. This psychological novel is full of intrigue; we are immediately prisoner in its yarns…

“Bakhita” by Véronique Olmi, a French author who won the “Prix du Fnac 2017”. In the 19th century, Bakhita was kidnapped at the age of seven in her village in Darfur…

City Coop - Book Corner

While shopping at a Coop supermarket, I stopped by its “book corner” to check out the new book releases. I choose a pretty selection of books, each one completely different from the other: a book on Portuguese cooking, a novel by a famous Belgian author, the second book of an English author who excels in working-class heroes and the romance genre.

I didn’t buy any of these books; I simply put them on my Santa Claus gift list…If I am good he will probably leave one of them in my Christmas stocking.

So what’s next? Christmas…counting the days already!!!

A woman in Berlin by Anonymous (1954) (Eine Frau in Berlin)

Sincerely, this book is the best I have read this year. Henceforth it will be part of my list of all time best reads. Despite the atrocities it describes, I found it very easy to read, given the detached tone of the narrator. Indeed, the text does not fall into melodrama, it remains objective. That said, I had tears in my eyes on many occasions.

The anonymous author makes a poignant, cold, detailed and humorous autobiographical account of the post-war period following the fall of Berlin, when the Red Army invaded Germany. It relates the everyday life in Berlin during the Soviet occupation, particularly in relation to women, victims of multiple rapes, starvation, loneliness and the relentless struggle for survival.

This memoir was published anonymously for the first time in 1954 in English. The narrator wrote her diary every day by the light of a candle. Later she gave her notebooks to a friend, who decided to have them published anonymously to preserve the privacy of the people described in her memoir. After the death of the narrator, in 2001, the name of the author was revealed. She was Marta Hillers, a German journalist.

Parc des Eaux-Vives

That was the day when autumn really began in Geneva. We had enjoyed a sunny and mild October and early November, but suddenly the temperature dropped, the wind began to whistle loudly and the cold and rain came to stay.

If you have been following me for a while, you will know that autumn is my second favourite season and that nature enriches my life. Whenever I have time, I love going for a long stroll around Lake Geneva, parks and forests…And I can say that Parc des Eaux-Vives has quickly become my happy place. I always have a splendid time there. 

You know, the magical thing about living in a small city is that it takes only minutes to get to anywhere.

I hope you will enjoy this tour. 

Lots of Love

Birthday Celebration!

Oh, what can I say about sweetheart? A million good things, but to describe him I borrow the most beautiful words from the dictionary UNIQUE and NOBLE. I like his humble and generous manner, his reserved and funny ways (he makes me laugh so much), but, above all, I love this man because he puts a smile on my face and loves me just the way I am: imperfect, but perfect in his eyes!!

I prepared a small and simple celebration for his birthday…and I just couldn’t stop myself from posting it! I hope you enjoy.

I set a neutral colours lunch table and decorated it with flowers from our local market.

An amazing “Brassica Oleracea”

“White Lisianthus”  symbolises joy, gratitude and charisma…And I added a few decorations with the inscription Live, Laugh, Love…

As a gift, I offered him a book “You can’t win” by Jack Black and a decorative desk tidy...

For the menu, a mushroom risotto. This revisited Italian classic brings together two species of mushroom (Paris and Chanterelle mushrooms) in a creamy risotto, enhanced by the aroma of tarragon.

I prepared a chocolate cake, the same one I made for my birthday, but topped it with fresh exotic fruits and we had some bubbly…

To my surprise, sweetheart arrived home with this amazing arrangement of Autumn flowers for me…I loved these warm coloured flowers!!

Spéculoos and Raspberry Tiramisu Verrines

I made these Tiramisu verrines for a dinner in early July. This is a very light dessert, this version of the famous tiramisu with raspberries and Spéculoos is a real pleasure for the eyes and the taste buds!

Recipe adapted from the French magazine “Journal de Femme”

Ingredients for 4 persons:

250g mascarpone (I used Galbani)

2 eggs (I used organic)

50g sugar

16 Spéculoos biscuits (I used the Lotus brand)

1 untreated lemon (zest)

400g fresh raspberries

Preparation:

In a bowl, mix the egg yolks with 25g of sugar until frothy; then add the mascarpone and the lemon zest. Mix well with a wooden spoon until you get a homogeneous cream.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites with the remaining 25g of sugar, then stir them very gently, with a spatula, into the rest of the preparation.

Reserve some raspberries for decoration and crush the rest with a fork.

To assemble

Take 4 verrines (200 ml) line the bottom with a layer of 2 crumbled Spéculoos biscuits, add a layer of crushed raspberries and cover with a layer of mascarpone.

Repeat the process: Spéculoos biscuits, raspberries, mascarpone. Decorate with fresh raspberries. Refrigerate for at least five hours.

Coeurs Silencieux by Anne Brécart (2017)

My thoughts: As I mentioned in my “October Monthly Round Up”, I have so many books on my bookshelf waiting to be read. But, as I am a passionate soul, whenever a book captures my attention, I take it home. Thus, I borrowed “Coeur Silencieux” by Anne Brécart from my local library. This Swiss author is a wonderful discovery. I finished this book in two days and can’t stop thinking about it. This will be one of those books that stay with me forever. It is a reminder of what love life is like; there are no bad decisions, just appropriate ones, made at that particular stage in our life.

In “Coeurs Silencieux” the narrator observes what time is doing to emotional attachments and she explores what is no longer and what remains unaltered: the old emotions, the links re-emerging from the mists of time.

This is an elegant and delicately written novel. I loved the nostalgia that this story evokes; the book oscillates between the old days and the present. The narrator, Hannah, is a woman in her fifties who, after a divorce and two grown up children, decides to return to the village of her childhood, using the excuse of the sale of her mum’s house. Upon her arrival, she is welcomed by Jacob, the sweetheart of her adolescence. They met forty years earlier; she was a 14 year old teenager and Jacob a 21 year old young adult teacher. Jacob entrusts her with the diary where he recorded the two years of their love story. Despite the forty years spent apart, Hannah succumbs again to this silent and mysterious man with ambivalent behaviour.